Roll changing system for straighteners and the like



March 3, 1970 E. s. THOMPSON 3,498,099

ROLL CHANGING SYSTEM FOR STRAIGHTENERS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 8, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNVEiVTUR ELBERT aa/aoav 77/04/1 50 ATTORNEUG.

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ROLL CHANGING SYSTEM FOR STRAIGHTENERS AND THE'iLIKE Filed Feb. 8, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 3,1970 E. G. THOMPSON 3,498,099

ROLL CHANGING SYSTEM FOR STRAIGHTENERS AND THEjLIKE Filed Feb. 8, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 wuz-wrae.

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ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,498,099 ROLL CHANGING SYSTEM FOR STRAIGHTENERS AND THE LIKE Elbert Gordon Thompson, State College, Pa., assignor to Sutton Engineering Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Feb. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 704,085 Int. Cl. B23q 3/00; B21d 3/02 U.S. Cl. 72-238 Claims ABSTRACT THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to a roll changing system for straighteners, levelers, and like apparatus, particularly those having outboard rolls, i.e., rolls mounted on spindles having a free end over which the roll can be removed and a new roll mounted in its place. In accordance with the present invention, the roll changing mechanism includes a rotatable frame disposed adjacent to the straightener and at least one pair of roll gripping elements supported on the frame and rotatable with it. The two roll gripping elements that make up a pair are mounted on opposite sides of the frame, with one of those elements initially in close proximity to and axially aligned with a spindle of the straightener for removing a roll therefrom. When the frame is rotated 180, the second roll gripping element of the same pair is brought in close proximity to and axially aligned with the same spindle for mounting a new roll thereon. Each roll gripping element is reciprocable axially towards and away from the adjacent spindle for removing or mounting a roll. In addition, each roll is normally held on its spindle by quick release retaining means operable to release an old roll or accept a new one by reciprocation of the roll gripping elements. There are preferably as many separate pairs of roll gripping elements mounted on the rotatable frame as there are rolls on the straightener, so that all rolls can be changed simultaneously.

Background of the invention There are available today a number of machines for straightening flat sheet and rolled or extruded shapes, in which the material to be straightened is passed between two staggered banks of work rolls and flexed alternately in opposite directions to stress portions of the material beyond its elastic limit and thereby flatten it or, in the case of some shapes, restore to it a desired contour. In one form of such apparatus, the work rolls are of the outboard type, in which the rolls are mounted on spindles supported only at one end, the other end being free to permit a roll to be removed thereover and a new roll mounted in its place. Although this construction makes it easier to change rolls, the time and labor required to do so are still considerable. Obviously, it would be advantageous to reduce the roll changing time to a minimum and to make the operation as nearly automatic as possible. The present invention is directed to that end.

Objects of the invention It is accordingly among the objects of the present invention to provide a roll changing system of the type described that will permit rolls to be changed in a matter of minutes, including the automatic release of an old roll f'om the spindle on which it is mounted and the locking of a new roll in its place on the same spindle; that will permit the simultaneous changing of a plurality of rolls on as many spindles, including rolls disposed in two staggered generally parallel banks; and that can be used for changing rolls that have their axes mounted either horizontally or vertically.

3,498,099 Patented Mar. 3, 1970 Brief description of the drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention is described herein in connection with the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a system for changing the rolls on a two-high outboard roll straightener;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the essential portions of the roll changing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the arrangement shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation, partly in section, of the roll changing system shown in the preceding figures;

FIG. 5 is a still further enlarged front elevation, partly in section, of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the quick release retaining means for holding a roll on the spindle of the straightener; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary front elevation showing the general arrangement of a modified form of roll changing system designed to handle rolls mounted with their axes extending vertically.

Description of the invention The present invention is described herein in connection with a straightener of a type suitable for straightening flat sheet or simple shapes, such as those extruded from a die. The work rolls are mounted on spindles having a free end over which the rolls can be removed and new rolls mounted in their place. Rolls are arranged in staggered relation in two banks, one above the other, the upper bank of rolls being movable vertically relative to the lower bank.

Referring to the drawings, the straightener is designated generally by the numeral 1 and includes a roll housing 2 mounted on a base 3. The upper bank of rolls 4 is mounted on spindles 6, and the lower bank of rolls 7 on spindles 8. Conventional power-operated screw-downs 9 are provided for raising and lowering the upper spindles 6 to bring the upper and lower bank of rolls into the desired overlapping relation. In the drawings, the upper bank of rolls is shown raised to its fullest extent, the position that provides maximum clearance for changing the rolls. In addition, means (not shown) are provided for reciprocating the housing transversely of the base in the direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 1; and the roll housing is shown in its extreme out position, in which the housing is moved to the left (looking at FIG. 1') as far as possible to be in close proximity to the adjacent roll changing mechanism.

The roll changing mechanism 11 is disposed along one side of the straightener and includes end supports 12 rigidly mounted on a base 13 for rotatably supporting a frame 14 on trunnions 16. Mounted on this frame and rotatable with it are a plurality of pairs 21 and 22 of hollow mandrels having the same outside diameter as the straightener spindles. In each pair, the mandrels are mounted on opposite sides of the frame and, on rotation of the frame through are adapted to be successively brought in proximity to and axially aligned with a particular straightener spindle. In the pairs 21, the mandrels 21a and 21b are adapted to be aligned with the upper spindles 6; and, in the other pairs 22, the mandrels 22a and 22b are adapted to be aligned with the lower spindles 8. It will be noted that the mandrels in each pair are disposed in the same vertical plane but in different horizontal planes, one above and the other below the trunnion axis. It will also be noted that adjacent pairs of mandrels 21 and 22 are disposed in different vertical planes because the spindles they serve are staggered. The frame 14 is rotated about the horizontal trunnion axis by a motor 23 and a gear reduction device 24, suitable controls (not shown) being provided to assure exactly 180 successive rotations, so as to bring the mandrels and their corresponding spindles into alignment. Before the frame 14 is rotated on its trunnions, the straightener housing 2 is moved transversely of base 3 in a direction away from the adjacent roll changing mechanism to provide the necessary clearance between the spindles and the mandrels with the rolls supported thereon.

As best shown in FIGS. 4-6, there is slidably mounted on each mandrel a sleeve 31 provided with radially extending connectors 32 and a flange 33. Connectors 32, which are on the outer end of the sleeve, are provided with slots 34 and counterbores 35 (see FIGS. and 6) for receiving the necks 36 and heads 37, respectively, of lugs 38 secured to the outer face of each work roll. Locking engagement between the connectors and a roll is effected by axial advancement of the sleeve on its supporting mandrel until the connector touches the face of the roll and then, by turning the roll relative to the connector, the necks of the lugs enter the slots (see the lower right hand portion of FIG. 4). When the sleeve is thereafter retracted on the mandrel, the head of each lug enters a counterbore 35 to lock the roll on the sleeve. Each sleeve is reciprocated on its supporting mandrel by a piston rod 39 operated by a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 41. The piston rod is provided with a crosshead 42 that extends through longitudinal slots 43 in this mandrel. The crosshead is fastened to a ring 44 that is secured by bolts 46 and springs 47 to the flanges 33 on the inner end of sleeve 31. By reciprocating the piston rod and by rotating the roll, the sleeve can be secured to a roll mounted on the spindle and the roll removed therefrom, so that it is supported on the mandrel as shown in the upper right hand portion of FIG. 4. In this retracted position, the sleeve is received within a cylindrical cover 48 welded to the frame 14, the outer edge of the cover acting as a stop for the roll, so that the springs 47 are compressed to maintain the heads 37 of lugs 38 in the counterbores 35 of connectors 32.

Normally, each work roll is retained on its spindle by a quick release retaining means generally designated by the numeral 51. Those means include, as best shown in FIGS. 4-6, two approximately semicircular ring segments 52 pivotally mounted in an annual groove 53 in each spindle near its outer end. A spring 54 normally urges the free ends of the ring segments radially outwards to the extent permitted by the play of pins 56 in slots 57 at the free ends of those segments. When expanded outwardly, the segments extend beyond the circumferential surface of the spindle to provide a locking engagement with a work roll mounted on the spindle, as shown in FIG. 5. Each of the locking segments 52 is provided with a beveled outer edge 58 adapted to engage a complementary bevel 59 on the outer end of the adjacent sleeve 31 when the latter is moved axially towards the straightener. Such movement pushes the locking segments 52 into their groove against the urging of spring 54 until the outer surfaces of those segments are flush with the outer surface of the spindle as shown in the lower right hand portion of FIG. 4. In that position, the sleeve 31 can be locked to the work roll as previously described and the roll withdrawn from the spindle. During such withdrawal, the locking segments 52 will be held in their groove, first by the inner cylindrical surface 61 of the sleeve and then by the inner cylindrical surface of the bore in the roll itself. When the roll has been fully removed from the spindle (as shown in the upper right hand portion of FIG. 4), then the locking segments 52 assume their normal extended position.

After a roll has been removed in the manner described above, a new roll 4a or 7a previously mounted on the second mandrel 21b or 22b of the same pair of mandrels is then brought into registry with the same spindle by 180 rotation of the frame 14. Except for the identity of the roll and mandrel (for example, roll 4 and mandrel 4 21a will be replaced by roll 4a and mandrel 21b), the relative position of the parts after such rotation Will be the same as that shown in the upper right hand portion of FIG. 4. The piston rod 39 is then advanced towards the spindle, pushing the new roll (4a or 7a), which is provided (as are all the rolls) with a bevel 62 at the inner end of its bore, over the bevel 58 of the locking segments to press those segments into their radially retracted position to permit the roll to slide thereover and onto the spindle. When fully inserted, the relative position of the parts is as shown in the lower right hand portion of FIG. 4. The roll can then be rotated relative to the sleeve to unlock the roll therefrom, and the sleeve retracted onto its mandrel. The parts will then be in their initial position as shown in FIG. 1, except that a new roll will have replaced an old one on the spindle. What has been described above, in the case of one particular roll and spindle, applies equally to the other rolls and spindles, the rolls being changed simultaneously on all of the spindles.

The rolls are prevented from rotating on their spindles by splines 63 fitting in longitudinal grooves in each spindle and roll. In addition, each roll is wedgingly held on its spindle by the mutually engaging bevels 64 and 66 on the adjacent faces of the roll and ring segments 52, so that the springs 54 in urging the ring segments outwardly assure a tight fit between those segments and the rolls. Because of the different wedging actions involved, it will be noted that the complementary bevels 58 and 59 or 62 are disposed at relatively small angles to the axis of the spindle and mandrel, while the complementary be'vels 64 and 66 are at steep angles to the same axis.

For certain purposes, it is customary to provide straightening rolls mounted on vertically extending axes. Generally, a series of such rolls will follow or precede a series in which the roll axes are disposed horizontally to provide straightening or flattening in two planes at right angles to each other. The present invention is equally applicable to rolls with vertically extending axes, and a roll changing mechanism for such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 7. In this arrangement the left hand bank of rolls can be moved laterally towards and away from the right hand bank of rolls by the screw-down 71. These two banks of rolls are staggered in the same way as the rolls previously described in connection with FIGS. 1-6. The roll changing mechanism for such an arrangement again includes end supports 72 carried by wheels 73 on a support beam structure 74, so that the axes of the roll changing mandrels can be aligned with the axes of the roll spindles on the straightener when the latter are moved apart to provide adequate clearance. In this case, the mandrels and other portions of the roll changing mechanism are supported on the same type of frame and operated in the same way as the horizontal arrangement previously described (corresponding parts being identified by the same numerals) and need not be further dis cussed.

It is among the advantages of the present invention that it provides for substantially instantaneous roll changing of all the outboard mounted rolls of a straightener, predicated on substantially automatic alignment of the roll changing mechanism with the spindles on which the rolls are mounted. Another advantage of the system herein described is that the rolls are retained on their spindles by means that are releasable by the normal operation of the roll changing mechanism, requiring no intervention on the part of the operator. A still further advantage is that the roll gripping means of this invention may be securely locked to the rolls withdrawn from the straightener spindles, as well as to the spare rolls to be replaced on those spindles, during the roll changing operation and thereby avoid any chance of the rolls being dropped during the rotation ofthe roll changing mechanism.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for rapidly changing a roll mounted on a spindle having a free end over which the roll can be removed and a second roll mounted in its place, said apparatus comprising: a set of first and second mandrels of the same diameter as the spindle, a rotatable frame supporting the mandrels and having two positions in which the first and then the second mandrel is brought successively adajcent to and axially aligned with the spindle, a separate sleeve slidably mounted on each mandrel, separate means for moving each sleeve axially of its supporting mandrel between extended and retracted positions, locking means on each sleeve for releasably engaging similar means on each of the rolls, radially compressible quick release retaining means adjacent the outer end of the spindle for retaining a roll thereon, the retaining means being radially compressible into a releasing position by engagement with the outer end of a sleeve when the latter is moved towards its extended position over the outer end of the spindle and also by engagement with the inner end of the second roll when that roll is moved in the same direction over the outer end of the spindle to mount the second roll thereon, said retaining means being held in its releasing position by the first roll during its removal from the spindle and by the second roll during its mounting thereon, the second roll being initially locked to a sleeve in its retracted position on the second mandrel initially remote from the spindle.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the quick release retaining means include a pair of opposed ring segments, each of which is pivoted at one end to the wall of a circumferential groove in the spindle with its other end free to move in a predetermined are about said pivot between locking and releasing positions, and spring means for normally holding said segments in their locking positions.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the ring segments have beveled outer edges adapted to be engaged by mating beveled edges on the outer end of each sleeve and on the inner end of each roll for radially compressing said segments into said groove when the sleeve is moved towards its extended position.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which each ring segment is provided with a bevel on its inner end for wedging engagement with the outer end of the roll mounted on the spindle.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the outer end of each roll is provided with a plurality of lugs, and

in which the outer end of each sleeve is provided with a plurality of sockets adapted to receive said lugs, with locking engagement between the lugs and sockets being effected by relative rotation between the sleeve and roll.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which each lug has neck and head portions, with the head portion adapted to be received within a counterbore in the sleeve to lock the lug relative to the sleeve, and spring means for holding the lug head in said counterbore.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said frame is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said spindles are disposed with their axes horizontal.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said spindles are disposed with their axes vertical.

10. Apparatus for rapidly removing a first roll mounted on a spindle having a free end over which the roll can be removed and for mounting a second roll on the spindle in its place, said apparatus comprising: a rotatable frame having first and second positions, a set of roll gripping elements supported on the frame and rotatable with it, including a first roll gripping element that is adjacent to and axially aligned with the spindle when the frame is in its first position and a second roll gripping element that is adjacent to and axially aligned with the same spindle when the frame is in its second position, locking means on each roll gripping element for releasably engaging complementary means on the rolls, means for reciprocating each roll gripping element axially of the spindle when that element is adjacent to and aligned with the spindle, and quick release retaining means for normally retaining a roll on the spindle but releasing the roll for removal therefrom when forceably engaged by the outer end of a roll gripping element when the latter is moved axially towards the adjacent and aligned spindle, the second roll being initially locked to the roll gripping element that is not initially adjacent to and aligned with the spindle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner B. J. MUSTAIKIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

